1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable folding banjo and guitar stand.
2. Description of Related Art
Guitars and banjos have always been popular musical instruments. Whether being transported in an instrument case or carried alone, guitars and banjos have always been very mobile musical instruments. Like most musical instruments, guitars and banjos also use instrument stands to secure them in place, with many types of guitar and banjo stands being well-known and reflected in the related art.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,673,205 issued to Romao, outlines the use of a banjo stand in combination with a cloth protector, which is easily applied to the banjo stand, which also protects the banjo from direct contact with the stand when both are used and assembled. The banjo stand also conveniently folds-up and easily stores with the cloth protector in most banjo cases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,021 issued to Cien et al., outlines the use of a compact collapsible portable guitar stand that has a rear support leg, a backrest support leg and a pair of lateral side support legs, all of which are pivotally secured to a T-hinge assembly. A pair of support arms having upright members on their front ends each have their rear ends pivotally secured to the hinge assembly and they function to support the bottom end of a guitar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,701 issued to Olson, outlines the use of a musical instrument stand for enabling the instrument to remain in an upright position when not in use and be retained on the instrument when the instrument is in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,143 issued to Hoshino, outlines the use of a collapsible stand for use in supporting a guitar or other similar object. The stand includes a top main member and a central leg which is pivotable forwardly and rearwardly of the main member. In the forward position, the central leg is in a supporting position. Right and left side legs are provided to the left and right of the central leg and the side legs are pivotable outwardly away from the central leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,497 issued to Pirchio et al., outlines the use of an adjustable portable stand for supporting an elongated instrument by its base in a generally upright orientation, which includes a multiple leg assembly and first and second vertically extending rigid legs. First and second supports project outwardly from the first and second legs for cooperatively supporting the base of an elongated instrument. Each of the supports are independently adjustable along the longitudinal axis of its respective leg and are fixable at a selected point.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,634 issued to Liao, outlines the use of a collapsible guitar stand, which includes a top member having two bottom holes spaced by a bottom frame, with two front legs pivotably connected to either bottom hole of the top member, a back leg pivotably connected to a longitudinal groove on the bottom frame and two supporting rods pivotably connected to oblong holes on the front legs to hold a guitar on.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,689 issued to Hoshino, outlines the use of a generally U-shaped body with the U-opening towards the front side of the stand. A pair of front legs are attached to the left and right front sides of the stand and are rotatable left and right at their journaled attachment to the front of the body. Left and right rear legs are attached to the left and right ends toward the rear side of the body and are journaled to swing forward and rearward.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,735 issued to Liao, outlines the use of a folding guitar stand which includes a top member and two legs pivotably connected to a hollow bottom side of the top member. Two connecting rods are pivotably connected to the legs for supporting the guitar and two foot members respectively fixed to the legs at the bottom, with each foot member having two balance rods being pivotal in opposite directions for supporting the stand on the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,417 issued to Yu, outlines the use of a guitar stand that has an adjustment joint, a support rod connected to the adjustment joint and two outer pipes receiving the inner pipes respectively. Two leg joints are connected to the outer pipes and two leg rods are connected to the leg joints, while two brackets are disposed on the inner pipes respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,225 issued to Hsu, outlines the use of a guitar rack structure that is made up of a fixing plate and two leg stands, each of the leg stands are tightened by a screw onto the right and left parts of the fixing plate. There is an additional fitting of a length adjustable upright rod onto the fixing plate, with the top end of the upright rod having a Y-shaped fork.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,213 issued to Law, III et al., outlines the use of a musical instrument stand which can hold a number of musical instruments by a supporting structure that partly includes the structure of a case having top and bottom halves that are hinged together. The top and bottom halves are pivoted open to place the top half in a substantially vertical position, where the top half holds a supporting yoke for holding an instrument, such as the neck of a guitar resting against a pad in the bottom half of the structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,406 issued to Park, outlines the use of a guitar stand used to prominently display guitars and more particularly, to a guitar stand that is light and is easily folded so as to obtain convenience in storing and carrying a guitar. The guitar stand is capable of sustaining the guitar in a stable fashion, so as to stand it up against a certain degree of impact. The guitar stand also allows advertisements to appear on its front plate so as to improve its advertisement effect.
Although each of these patents outline useful and unique devices, many have the problem of scratching the musical instrument that they are displaying and can also be cumbersome to carry with the musical instrument. If a sturdy and portable banjo and guitar stand were available that was compact and were made of materials that would not damage the banjo or guitar being displayed, it would be useful to a great number of banjo and guitar players in the marketplace.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.